Southwestern Maine Fishing Report: August 8, 2007

The summer doldrums are upon us, and fishing reports from local trout and salmon anglers have dwindled to a standstill. Our seasonal census clerk indicates that a few diehard anglers are still picking up some nice togue at Auburn Lake. Auburn Lake anglers have also reported an increase in catches of sublegal salmon as stocked fish from this spring are entering the fishery and becoming vulnerable to angling. The Sebago Lake togue fleet has been relatively quiet, but the lake continues to produce some decent sized togue in the 3-6 pound class for the deep trollers with an occasional fish in the double digits. Other good bets for togue fishing in the region include Kezar Lake (Lovell) and Thompson Lake (Oxford), but anglers need to be prepared to fish deeper water with lead core and/or down riggers.

Although many trout fisherman hang up their gear this time of year, there is still some good fishing to be had in the region for those anglers willing to target deeper water. We spoke with an angler on Lower Range Pond in Poland that picked up a decent 16 inch brown trout and numerous bass, while our own sampling yielded six browns in the 15-18 inch range and one 17 inch rainbow trout. To be successful, it is critical that anglers target the band of cold, oxygenated water that develops on most of our lakes and ponds this time of year. For example on Lower Range Pond, the water temperature was too warm for trout above 18 feet deep and the dissolved oxygen was too low below 27 feet deep. Fish too shallow or too deep for trout this time of year and you will mostly likely return home skunked! While anglers may not have all the water quality gear we have, you can expect the appropriate band to be somewhere in the 15 to 30 foot range on most trout waters from mid to late summer. In addition, your fish finder and the presence of fish can indirectly give you a clue as to the appropriate depth ranges to focus on. Last Friday we sampled a small brook trout pond in Oxford County, the number of trout sampled was relatively low; however, we caught one sizable brookie that was over 18 inches! A trophy brook trout for sure, particularly in the Sebago Lakes region.

Last week we had reports of 2 fish kills, one at Pineland Pond in New Gloucester and the other was on Sebago Lake in Raymond. At Pineland Pond a small number of uncaught stocked brook trout (a put-and-take fishery) were finally succumbing to excessive temperatures due to a lack of summer refugia (i.e. deeper cold, oxygenated water or springs). Several anglers from Sebago Lake reported a die-off of smelt in the Jordan Bay area. Smelt die-offs are not that uncommon this time of year during excessively hot weather patterns. When conditions are right, we suspect schools of juvenile smelt become accidentally caught-up in warm surface waters due to wave, wind, or currents during their nightly migration to the thermocline to feed. If you witness or suspect a fish kill, please report the event to your regional fisheries office for investigation.